Today on Veterans Day, November 11, the USS Midway Museum will host a nationally telecast college basketball game whose proceeds will benefit several veterans organizations. Fox Sports will telecast the San Diego State University vs. Syracuse University game on the flight deck. This is the 2nd year that this special game has taken place aboard the Midway. I am not a basketball fan, but for this I would go…unfortunately I did not try to buy tickets early enough.

p.s. I goofed! This is the 2nd year of this special basketball game, but it is the first time that it is being played on the flight deck of the USS Midway. Last years game was played aboard the USS Carl Vinson.

“USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and was retired in the 2004 to be moored in San Diego as the USS Midway Museum. “It is dedicated to preserving and honoring the 225,000 young men and women who served aboard the USS Midway–and by extension all those who serve in uniform. They pioneered new naval aviation standards. They led successful humanitarian missions. And they protected America. We believe it is vital that we preserve their heritage for future generations. The USS Midway is striving to become America’s living symbol of freedom.”

It was and still is a floating city at sea and you can relive nearly 50 years of world history aboard the longest-serving Navy aircraft carrier of the 20th century. Guests aboard the Midway typically spend 3-4 hours marvelling at all of her attributes.

What a marvelous way to salute the veterans today! I would like to thank each and every veteran and active military member for answering the call to serve our country. I wish that I could thank each and every one of you personally from Jerry to Nancy to my niece Miranda and everyone else in between.

This is my niece standing in the middle as her 7 month deployment aboard the USS Nimitz was coming to end a few years ago. Waiting for the ship to come into the naval station San Diego was a very memorable moment and one I won’t forget for many years to come. I was there for her along with her boyfriend and a surprise visit from her Mom! Very special day indeed! can I tell you how proud of her that I am?

I worked the day away yesterday between stitch guides as I only have about 20 something that I need to finish up. I kid you not! A little straightening up of threads, threads and more threads, a little laundry and of course some stitching!

AlleyCat was keeping herself toasty under the lamp. and until next time…keep on stitching

Canvases by NeedleDeeva $, threads, beads and Kreinik $$, countless hours of stitching, charting and writing stitch guides $$$, back cover of Needlepoint Now magazine… priceless!

This is the latest issue of Needlepoint Now magazine, the November/December 2012 issue  that is on the way to your mailboxes right now! The Deeva and I are truly honored to be gracing the back cover introducing our newest select retailers club, The First Thanksgiving…

Matthew Williams and Chief Wampanaog are in the magazine along with their stitch guides. During one of my visits at the studios of Needlepoint Now, Elizabeth selected the young man with the turkey as what is Thanksgiving without turkey?

The Chief was selected second and he was absolutely my favorite one to stitch of the group. I think that it was the beaded fish and his amulet. If you are not a beader type person, you could easily just stitch them in a shiny thread, Kreinik, Treasure Braid or anything else that you like stitching with!

If you would like to stitch the entire set of the First Thanksgiving…

These are the select retailers that so far will be participating with this…and listed in no preferential order, but rather alphabetically.

Barbara’s Needlepoint Sioux Falls, SD  605-367-9050

Designers Desk Geneva, IL 630-262-1234

In Stitches Atlanta, GA 404-816-4612

Needlepoint of La Jolla La Jolla, CA 800-521-9811

Peacocok Alley Ada, MI 877-550-9898

Pocket Full of Stitches Lubbock, TX 800-234-1761

The Enriched Stitch Wilton, CT 203-210-5107

Wellesley Needlepoint Wellesley MA 781-235-5107

What’s the Point? Dublin, OH 614-717-9008

I took the night off from stitching last night! I did absolutely nothing but veg in front of the tv and cuddle with the felines. That is so unlike me as I never am one to waste time…just way too much to do, too much stitching and just too much.

One night last week I shot this picture of Sylvester, who moved into my prime time stitching spot before I was able to settle in.

I took his picture with my cell phone and shared it on Facebook with the comment “where do you expect me to sit now Sylvester?” The comments overwhelmingly said “on the floor of course!”

now why didn’t I think of that? and until next time…keep on stitching

There were so many questions and comments about these wonderful little bags from What’s the Point? that I thought I would gab about them some more. I shot some additonal pictures so you can see them from more than one angle and will share the stitches. Fair warning stitching these bags can be very addictive…one or two of them is not nearly enough! I think that in between all these big projects that we work on that it is nice to have a small project that can be finished up quickly. Not much better than that feeling of accomplishment!

This is the background stitch that I used on the bag with the skate, called elongated cross stitch.  I think that I use either 2 or 3 strands of white Splendor for this and work all of the longer cross stitches first. I love, love, love this stitch…did I say love? as it compensates with ease around all the toughest places. This is the first part of the stitch.

The second part of this stitch is the addition of a smaller cross stitch in Kreinik 032 Pearl in a #8. The stitch is very versatile as you can instead use a French knot or a bead or work the smaller cross stitch in another color thread instead of Kreinik.

The background stitch on this bag is a brick stitch and was suggested by Brenda Hart. It is a fun stitch to do…well for me anyway!

This is the first part of the stitch which again I worked in white Splendor. I am thinking that I used 3 strands as I tend to work lighter. Allot would depend on your tension and what you like. After your brick stitches are in…

Kreinik #8 in 032 Pearl is run under the stitches where the bricking meet together. A great finishing touch! Another favorite stitch of mine.

This is what the bags look like on the inside. I need to do some stash enhancement and order some more of these bags!

At 12:37am this morning I was doing the happy dance as I finally finished a piece that I have been struggling with! I am thrilled and now I start the second guessing myself, did I select the right background stitch? how about the bead color? I know the threads are a good choice, well only after about a dozen trips to buy just one more thread or look at one more bead color. The problem is when I stitch that late I have so much trouble getting to sleep. I wasn’t even able to toss and turn at all since AlleyCat was sleeping between my legs and Sylvester on my stomach. So I couldn’t disturb them…aren’t you the same way?

Speaking of AlleyCat, here she is sticking her tongue out at me. and until next time…keep on stitching

I love, love, love…did I say love? working on ornaments for myself. They are short, quick and to the point. Speaking of point…these little bags are by What’s the Point?

I love to stitch ornaments for my tree in the season, so I worked on these last year during the month of December for this years tree. I have a few more out yet at the finishers and I am sure that they will be back in plenty of time. These are finished open and are just the right size for a little cash from Santa. A stitching friend of mine has many of these finished bags for the gift recipients in her family. They hang on her tree with a “little something” extra in them on Christmas morning. What a great idea!

I do love these bags and Brenda Hart has all these great little background stitches in her books. It is her idea too to use 4mm River Silk and ruche the bottom and the strap handles. The finisher works her magic and I have these great new additions for my tree this year. Of course as always I look for that new cat ornament to add to the collection.

The Keep Calm Ornaments are on bars and just waiting to be stitched!

Meredith gave me a few ideas for these and I almost started on one last night…almost! But no I had to tell myself no as I have to finish this piece that is going to be the death of me yet. Small, but packs allot of punch. As much as I have restitched and restitched this, I could have finished 4 of them!

We have been having beautiful weather here in America’s finest city. Summer like temperatures which will come to a screeching halt in a few days as they say rain is on the way. We need the rain so it will be a welcome sight. It is a wonderful way to spend the day, holed up on the couch with a cup of tea, the felines and my stitching!

Notice where a certain someone’s paws are? AlleyCat isn’t there somewhere else you can be? and until next time…keep on stitching

In just a few short weeks, turkeys will be thawing or brining…shopping for the big day will be front and center…last minute thoughts will be scribbled on a piece of paper…flowers to be ordered…pies to be baking…adult beverages to be selected and all that stuff.

Thanksgiving seems to be very early this year as it seems like Halloween was just yesterday? Maybe your feast will look just like this one that was set on the first day of thanks so many years ago. This is a Needle Deeva canvas and is part of the Thanksgiving set that I stitched for her. I learned something very important while stitching this group of canvases…don’t wait till you are all finished stitching all of the canvases till you write down the threads that you used in each one! You know the memory is just not once what it was. Once upon a time I never ever had to write anything down as it all stayed locked in the memory banks forever. These days, not so much so and people tell me that since I have lots more to remember now that there is not room for it all!

This is the ad that was created by the magic fingers of Sherrie of Needlepoint Now fame, announcing the select retailers that will be offering the club for your stitching pleasure. The canvases are with the finishers now and soon we will get to see them in all their glory.

This will kick off with the arrival of the newest Needlepoint Now which is in the mail any day now…my preview copy hasn’t even arrived yet! Matthew Williams, the young Pilgrim with the turkey and Chief Wampanoag, the Indian brave with his fish will be in the magazine with their stitch guides and thread selection. All I have left to do is get the other 10 stitch guides ready for prime time publication and work on the master thread list. Easier said than done?! That will be my front and center project with priority as soon as I chart one more stitch guide for the magazine and finish stitching a small piece should have been done yesterday.

I never did make it out for threads on Saturday. I was sure that I absolutely had to have some white Splendor in the stash. As how could I let myself run out of that one? I did find some and did kill lots of time looking for it. Putzing around the house took more time than I thought and before I knew it, it was too late to go. Now I need to look for another thread for one of the cupcakes. I have the right color in the wrong type of thread and the right type of thread in the wrong color…so maybe I can find one that is just purr~fect? So guess where I am headed soon?

We all know what tomorrow is and there will be no mention of politics here. I just hope for the best outcome. Period. end of discussion.

AlleyCat is very busy watching kitty tv as the birds were driving her crazy! and until next time…keep on stitching

Well did you? For some of us, we got an extra hour of sleep this morning….for me not so. The cats didn’t realize that the clocks fell back an hour and that it wasn’t time for me to get up and serve breakfast. All they knew is that they were hungry! Guess who is the boss around here? Sylvester relishes everything that I serve him down to the last bite. Now if her royal highness AlleyCat has not given her paws of approval on what is placed before her…she literally runs out of the kitchen voicing her displeasure!

For me it was an extra hour of stitching last night as I burned the midnight oil keeping my little stitching fingers very busy. So many canvases to stitch and more time please!

In case you were wondering about this canvas…the clock is a snippet from this Alice in Wonderland Collage by Lani.

I love these collages that Lani does as it is “compartmentalized” into a handful of  smaller canvases! I took this canvas to Bedecked and Beadazzled a few years ago for a class with Brenda Hart. Haven’t been able to stitch on this lately, but I have learned over the years that it isn’t always about finishing…it is the journey, it is the learning process about new threads and new stitches and finally it is doing something that you love surrounded by your friends. I love this collage so much that I have Lani’s Wine Collage, Buddha Collage, Kitchen Collage and oh well you get the idea…

I will spend the day stitching away today as I work on another one of the Bakers Dozen of Cupcakes by NeedleDeeva. I have a few other things to work into the rotation, namely the cat canvas that I took from the Fab Four back in August. I also want to stitch on the canvas that Tony wrote this amazing stitch guide for me. So I thought that I would finish a cupcake, spend a few days stitching on something that is not a cupcake and then back to another cupcake. You know my deadlines are always looming.

I just want to thank everybody who left such wonderful messages welcoming us back! I know that I missed sharing the antics of Sylvester & AlleyCat and all of my stitching adventures soooooooooooooo much. A special thank you to Dale and her blog Canvases Be Gone for welcoming me back in grand style. Thank you Dale! Thank you to Christopher and then to Laura for getting the blog back together again.

I came across this quote yesterday by Pam Brown that is so true…

“Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause the most inconvenience”

This picture of AlleyCat says it all as she took over my stitching spot on the couch. and until next time…keep on stitching

If you have been following my blog for any time, you know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Mutts. A daily comic written by Patrick McDonell of the antics of Mooch the cat, Earl the dog and their surrounding cast of characters. My day starts out with my tea and Mutts, each and every day without fail. You will find a handful of my favorites ones clipped from the paper and cleverly framed and hung about the house so I can enjoy them always.

This was originally published after 9.11.2012,  but I came across this on Facebook yesterday with these wonderful written words…

“This strip originally ran on September 11, 2002. Though Hurricane Sandy is a very different event from 9/11, it seems appropriate to repost this now. Our hearts go out to everyone dealing with aftermath of this storm. Not just in Manhattan, but also the outer boroughs, Long Island, other parts of NY, CT, DE, MD, VA and of course ALL of Jersey — where our hearts lie.

Sending wishes of peace and healing to all who’ve been feeling the effects. May we come together and grow stronger by helping one another.”

I am one of the lucky ones as I sit warm and comfy in my house with my felines and the Mac. Not so much for many people on the East Coast as my heart and prayers go out to you. I had a conversation with my sister yesterday as I don’t remember these weather patterns happening when I grew up in NY.

On another sad note, Estelle Kreinik, co-founder of Kreinik thread company recently passed.

She is pictured here with her son Doug, who runs the family owned company today. Stop and think, what would our stitching lives be without Kreinik? Just think…just think of the last time you stitched anything at all without a bit of sparkle in your canvas from the Kreinik threads? I speak for many of us by saying thank you! Thank you for making our stitching just a little more enjoyable. To the Kreinik family, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

The blogless time that we spent together… and not sure if that really is a word or not? Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead came and went. While searching for inspiration about the Day of the Dead, I found this great explanation. Did you also know that it is celebrated both on November 1rst and 2nd?

“The belief is that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31, and the spirits of all deceased children (angelitos) are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours. On November 2, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them”

Ofrendos or beautiful altars, pan de muerto, buckets of marigolds, favorite foods and toys for the angelitos are just some of the many traditions surrounding the Day of the Dead. The presence of the sugar skulls being the most well known.

Sugar Skull Tradition

Sugar art was brought to the New World by Italian missionaries in the 17th century. The first Church mention of sugar art was from Palermo at Easter time when little sugar lambs and angels were made to adorn the side altars in the Catholic Church.

Mexico, abundant in sugar production and too poor to buy fancy imported European church decorations, learned quickly from the friars how to make sugar art for their religious festivals. Clay molded sugar figures of angels, sheep and sugar skulls go back to the Colonial Period 18th century. Sugar skulls represented a departed soul, had the name written on the forehead and was placed on the home ofrenda or gravestone to honor the return of a particular spirit. Sugar skull art reflects the folk art style of big happy smiles, colorful icing and sparkly tin and glittery adornments. Sugar skulls are labor intensive and made in very small batches in the homes of sugar skull makers. These wonderful artisans are disappearing as fabricated and imported candy skulls take their place.

This is one of my favorite sugar skulls that has been done on canvas. Original artwork by Manuel Salas and perfectly transformed onto canvas by Peggi of Tapestry Fair.

It would be hard to select just one! I have seen many of these being stitched and each one just keeps getting better and better.

Well it is time for me to get motivated and decide what to do with myself today. I do need a thread run as wouldn’t you know…I am out of white Splendor! Now how can that be? Oh well it is a good excuse to head down to La Jolla, breakfast at the Cottage and a little retail therapy.

and until next time…keep on stitching

Let me count the ways… Wow it has been way too long and I am soooooooooo sorry! I hope that you really did miss me as much as I missed blogging.

But my not being able to blog pales into comparison to the challenges left behind from the wrath of Sandy. My family in upstate NY was not effected too much and they are all safe and sound. Now my thoughts are with my stitching friends in the Northeast, I hope that you are too. Annie, Sharon G, Tony Minieri, Karen Milano, Nimble Needle, Fireside Stitchery, Edwardian Needle, Rittenhouse, Rita’s, Needles and Threads of Ruxton, The Enriched Stitch, Ridgewood and everybody else that I might have overlooked…I hope you and yours are ok too. My heart breaks for all without power, without gasoline, without the bare necessities of life and for property and treasures lost.

Let’s see I missed National Beer Day on October 27th, National Chocolate Day on October 28th and National Cat Day on October 29th… trust me, the feline deinizens of this household will never ever forgive me! Halloween and Dia de los Muertes just flew by.

The annual seminar of the Emborider’s Guild of America is going on in Sante Fe, NM and I am so looking forward to hearing all about it from all who are there.

So you are wondering what I have been doing with myself lately? Classes with Tony Minieri in Denver, Colorado where I was greeted with SNOW for the 2nd year in a row! Back home to 80 degree temperatures and hanging out with Brenda Hart for a few days. No classes, just chillin’ and talking stitches. Finished up with a few days at A Stitch in Time with the “Divine Miiss M.” In case you are wondering, that would be Meredith Willett of the Fab Four fame.

Speaking of the Fab Four…have you signed up for their class that is being there next year at A Stitch in Time? Trust me, you don’t want to miss this! There are only a few spots left, so it is sort of like shopping at Costco…don’t wait too long as you don’t want to miss out! If you have been thinking about it, call! call! call! 626-793-5217

As for my unexplained absence? well lets just say that somebody or more than one someone compromised the blog and…oh well the details are not important now. Let’s just say that mostlyneedlepoint has moved to a different server and hopefully will be totally back to normal. I look forward to bigger and better things and not being bothered by these technical challenges again!

I am home now and have lots to keep my out of mischief! Stitch guides for Needlepoint Now, stitching for NeedleDeeva, Raymond Crawford and Kirk & Hamilton… stitch guides of my own to write and edit. Then there’s the laundry, grocery shopping, errands and putting away the Halloween decorations. There is no rest for me!

Sylvester is guarding the thread stash, or is it his bag that he wants? and until next time…keep on stitching